Payments
How to track customer part-payments correctly
Three payments on three different days should leave three records. Replacing the original sale amount with the latest balance makes it harder to explain how the customer reached that balance.
Start with one sale reference
Consider a ₦500,000 sale. The buyer pays ₦100,000, then ₦150,000, then ₦250,000. The remaining balances are ₦400,000, ₦250,000 and zero. Keep the ₦500,000 sale amount unchanged.
For each payment, record the date received, amount, method, bank reference or cash receipt number, and the person who confirmed it. Attach the entry to the right sale. The buyer’s name alone may match several open orders.
Confirm before reducing the balance
A buyer can report that they made a transfer before it appears in your account. Keep that report separate from a confirmed receipt. Check your account through a channel you normally use, rather than a link sent with the payment claim.
If the same transfer is reported twice, it still counts once. Compare the reference, amount and time before adding another entry. A second screenshot is not a second payment.
Deal with one payment covering several sales
Ask the customer which invoices the transfer covers. If your agreement defines an allocation order, apply that order and make the result visible. Avoid letting two staff members independently allocate the full transfer to different invoices.
Suppose ₦200,000 pays the remaining ₦80,000 on one sale and ₦120,000 on another. The two allocations must total ₦200,000. Save the explanation with the payment so the next statement can be understood without another phone call.
Correct the record openly
If a payment was entered against the wrong sale, follow the correction process and retain the reason. Do not delete the original entry and leave a gap that the customer cannot explain.
After a correction, check the affected sale balances and the total cash recorded. Moving an allocation between sales should not create another receipt in the bank.
Questions people ask
Frequently asked questions
What should the receipt show?
The sale reference, confirmed amount, payment date and remaining balance. A receipt for a part-payment should not say the whole sale is paid.
What if the payment is larger than the balance?
Confirm the excess with the customer and use your refund or unapplied-payment process. Do not force the sale balance below zero to make the entry fit.